Author: Emily Dolloff

  • Great February Savings and Last Minute Gifts for Your Valentine

    Is your old Mac feeling the winter blues? Are you sitting at your desk and finding yourself reminiscing about when you first got your Mac and it zipped along from one application to the next? Eventually no matter how great your Mac was when you first brought it home, it comes to the end of its life expectancy. Now is a great time to take advantage of our “**trade in program**.”:http://www.smalldog.com/tradein/small-dog-trade-in-program You can use your store credit toward a new computer or anything else in our store!

    “!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4660.jpg!”:http://www.smalldog.com/presidentsday/presidents-day-sales

    Weren’t planning on buying a new computer? Did you know that Small Dog Electronics also offers financing? “**Special financing offers**”:http://www.smalldog.com/finance/affordable-financing-options are available everyday in our retail stores. On your next visit to our retail stores ask about our different financing options!

    “!http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4662.jpg!”:http://www.smalldog.com/finance/affordable-financing-options

    **Valentines Day** is only a few short days away and Small Dog has you covered! **$100 off** all Apple Factory refurbished computers while supplies last! We have in stock the “**11 inch MacBook Air**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002150 as well as the “**13 inch Macbook Air**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002152. Not sure a portable is the right solution for you or looking to make your dollar go as far as you can? The “**21 inch iMac**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002151 is perfect. And for anyone who has been wanting a new iMac for video editing check out the “**27 inch iMac**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002153. It’s an incredible machine and because it’s refurbished you save BIG verses buying it new. Don’t forget that all Apple Factory refurbished computers have 90 days of Apple phone support and a one year warranty on parts and labor. PLUS you can add Applecare to any of these computers to give you a total of three years of phone support and warranty coverage.

  • Small Dog is Hiring!

    Want to work with an amazing team AND get to work with Apple products all day? We have positions open in Rutland and in Waitsfield! See what “**jobs**”:http://www.smalldog.com/jobs/small-dog-job-openings we have open, we are eager to grow our team!

  • February Specials

    **Save $70** on the AudioEngine B2 Bluetooth Speaker

    **Save $20** on Outdoor Tech Buckshot Pro, a speaker, a powerbank and flashlight all in one

    **Save $25** on Outdoor Tech Orca wireless headphones

  • Now is a great time to think about a new Mac, especially if your thinking about trading in an older machine! We have “**special financing**”:http://www.smalldog.com/finance/affordable-financing-options available everyday in our stores!

  • Best in Showroom is Back!

    A lot has been going on around Small Dog Electronics the last few months and during that time we felt it was best to put on hold our monthly retail newsletter while we sent out shorter email communications during the holidays. We don’t want to crowd your inbox too much! With the new year finally underway we’re back at it with the same great Best in Showroom newsletter content you love. Did you know we also have several other great newsletters? If you are not signed up for our “**Deal Retriever**”:http://www.smalldog.com/newsletters/subscribe-to-our-fun-informative-newsletters e-mail, we encourage you to do so so that you don’t miss what’s going in our stores no matter the time of year or event we might be promoting.

    Get too much email but want to make sure you don’t miss out on the very best of our special announcements, sales and events? If you subscribe to our General Communications newsletter we’ll make sure you get all that info. Subscribing to this newsletter also allows us to send infrequent, customized information to you based on your orders. We don’t spam and we’ll never sell or trade your email address. Ever.

    Throughout February we have great deals going on in honor of “**Presidents’ Day**”:http://www.smalldog.com/presidentsday/presidents-day-sales so visit any of our retail stores or shop online!

    Emily Dolloff
    “emily@smalldog.com”:mailto:emily@smalldog.com
    General Manager

  • Emily's Favorite Mac Accessories

    I am the kind of gal that admittedly likes gadgets and accessories just because they are cool, I don’t even need to have a use for them to make me want one! If there is a new iPad case, a new speaker, a new product announcement from Apple, I want it. This has resulted in a vast collection over the years of all kinds of gadgets, gizmos and some stuff that I just hang onto for no good reason other than I might need it one day. Some things have been a bit of a fad, others have stood the test of time. Over the years I have found that I few items in my collection of gadgets that have either become invaluable or the kind of item that really stands the test of time.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4651.jpg!

    My first must have and favorite gadgets are portable bluetooth speakers, and I have had several over the years. The battery powered speakers from Skullcandy I had were one of my most favorite pocket sized speakers! It took up little room in my bag and I could have my music wherever I wanted. You never realize how much you miss having music wherever you go until you start to use these kinds of speakers and then suddenly don’t have them! I eventually outgrew my little Skullcandy speakers and upgraded to a larger but still portable Altec system. This speaker system went everywhere with us. In fact, it still travels with us in our camper even though it features a 30 pin connection for our phones. What I loved most about this set up was that it had a rechargeable battery, so unlike my little Skullcandy speakers I didn’t need to worry about carrying around spare AA batteries. It also allows me to use a 3.5mm headphone cable and an FM radio. I recently started to use the “**Outdoortech Turtle Shell**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85338/outdoor-tech-turtle-shell-2-0-rugged-wireless-boombox-electric-blue speakers to replace the old Skullcandy speakers for immediate portable sound, and as a huge bonus this speaker is bluetooth, something none of my previous portable units had. I will admit, I still haven’t found a better replacement for my aging Altec portable speaker as far as sound quality goes, but I will also admit finding a newer solution would require my having to let go!

    My second must-have gadget is an airport express base station. You might be surprised that it is not the Airport Extreme. Why do I love the “**airport express**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/80932/apple-airport-express-base-station-802-11n-wi-fi so much? Well part of it might be a bit nostaglic. It was my first introduction into wireless speakers. How cool was it to plug in my Harmon Kardon speakers, simply tap my iPhone while sitting on the couch, and my speakers came to life like magic? But the great features don’t stop there. It’s a really powerful and inexpensive wireless router. For many, we don’t have huge areas we need to cover with wireless. Maybe it’s just a small apartment, or perhaps your house just isn’t that big. When I first started to use the airport express the one draw back was that the only ethernet port had to be designed (in most cases) for your internet modem, but in recent years Apple has added a second ethernet port allowing for more flexibility and versatility with this little gem.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4650.jpg!

    iPad and iPhone cases are another huge weakness of mine. I probably have no less then five cases for my phone and for my iPad. You could say I collected cases like some girls collect shoes! But on a serious note, this is a very important accessory for your iPhone or your iPad. Some folks prefer form fitting and minimal, others prefer a more rugged case. I have come to prefer several cases. However, I think cases that combine both slim form factor and serious protection are the “**Lifeproof**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002119 cases. I have one for my phone and one for my iPad. What I love most of them is that they come off easily! I don’t always want a heavy duty case on my devices, but have found that many cases that offer greater levels of protection end up being very difficult to take off your device.

  • Keep Your Passwords!

    You have a password for the online banking, one for your Apple ID, one to log into your retirement amount. Your password for your bank has to have have at least one numeric number, but can’t start with a number and it can’t have any more than two of the same characters found in your username. Your retirement account must include at least 3 numbers and one special character but they can’t be consecutive.

    Does this sound familiar? In the perfect world we would only need one password, but unfortunately for security purposes and as hackers get better at what they do password strength has become critical and part of our everyday lives. The hassle with this is that most sites have their own sets of rules for password strength leaving many of us to peck away at our keyboards or devices in a sometimes endless game of “remember how you manipulated your favorite password 16 different ways and can’t remember if your banking site used the password with the capitalization or the one with the ampersand”.

    For a very long time I will admit my method of keeping track of my usernames and passwords was the stickies program on my Mac, much to the dismay of our IT manager! While stickies are easily accessed they are not secure and I do not recommend this method. Where you should keep them is in your keychain. You can access your keychain through applications and then utilities. Once you are in your keychain you can manually add preferred sites, accounts and passwords you wish to store. Another huge benefit is secure notes. Secure notes allow you store additional confidential information. Keychain is safe and secure because in order to view any of the passwords stored there you need to enter your administrator password. Within keychain you can make sure to safely and securely keep your passwords, and when you forget if you needed that capitalization or ampersand in your password you can simply open keychain and enter into the search field the website for which you need to confirm the password.

    Now what if you don’t have a mac? The loss of passwords, and most often your Apple ID password is a huge concern with users of iOS devices only. Luckily there is an easy solution for that, iCloud and iCloud keychain. Simply go to settings, iCloud and then select keychain. Your iOS device will begin to store your logins and websites. Additionally you can add specific websites and passwords manually to your phone or iPad under safari and then selecting passwords. This is also where you would look if you can’t remember login information.

    Recording safely your logins and passwords is an often overlooked step, especially when users of iOS devices accidentally have the device damaged or lost. Saving your passwords safely and using iCloud keychain can avert your being logged out of accounts.

  • Keep Your Passwords!

    You have a password for the online banking, one for your Apple ID, one to log into your retirement amount. Your password for your bank has to have have at least one numeric number, but can’t start with a number and it can’t have any more than two of the same characters found in your username. Your retirement account must include at least 3 numbers and one special character but they can’t be consecutive.

    Does this sound familiar? In the perfect world we would only need one password, but unfortunately for security purposes and as hackers get better at what they do password strength has become critical and part of our everyday lives. The hassle with this is that most sites have their own sets of rules for password strength leaving many of us to peck away at our keyboards or devices in a sometimes endless game of “remember how you manipulated your favorite password 16 different ways and can’t remember if your banking site used the password with the capitalization or the one with the ampersand”.

    p{text-align: center;}. !http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4644.jpg!

    For a very long time I will admit my method of keeping track of my usernames and passwords was the stickies program on my Mac, much to the dismay of our IT manager! While stickies are easily accessed they are not secure and I do not recommend this method. Where you should keep them is in your keychain. You can access your keychain through applications and then utilities. Once you are in your keychain you can manually add preferred sites, accounts and passwords you wish to store. Another huge benefit is secure notes. Secure notes allow you store additional confidential information. Keychain is safe and secure because in order to view any of the passwords stored there you need to enter your administrator password. Within keychain you can make sure to safely and securely keep your passwords, and when you forget if you needed that capitalization or ampersand in your password you can simply open keychain and enter into the search field the website for which you need to confirm the password.

    Now what if you don’t have a mac? The loss of passwords, and most often your Apple ID password is a huge concern with users of iOS devices only. Luckily there is an easy solution for that, iCloud and “iCloud keychain.”:https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204085 Simply go to settings, iCloud and then select keychain. Your iOS device will begin to store your logins and websites. Additionally you can add specific websites and passwords manually to your phone or iPad under **safari** and then selecting **passwords**. This is also where you would look if you can’t remember login information.

    Recording safely your logins and passwords is an often overlooked step, especially when users of iOS devices accidentally have the device damaged or lost. Saving your passwords safely and using iCloud keychain can avert your being logged out of accounts.

  • On a plane today and back home to Key West which is only a little more laid back. It is like being in a time machine leaving Las Vegas in the morning and back in the Keys by dinner.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    _Don,Emily, Dean and Scott_

  • _Dear Friends_,

    I am in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show and it is bigger than ever. My Apple watch is happy with all the walking I am doing but my feet are not feeling the love. The show is a great way to see what is on the horizon and of course, I had meetings interspersed with walking the show floor. Naturally, the meetings were far apart so I spent a lot of time walking or on buses or cabs.

    This show is pretty different from previous years but still is window to future products. See my short report below and I will follow up next week in Kibbles with a more in-depth look. This week’s kibbles exclusive special is a “refurbished 13-inch MacBook Air with a 512GB hard drive bundled with Applecare and a 2TB Time Capsule for $1759.99”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002113/special-save-150-on-refurbished-mac-bundle-and-keep-it-safe The MacBook Air is one of my most favorite laptops and this refurbished bundle is a great way to upgrade your mac and ensure your data is secure for the new year!

  • QardioArm

    Over the Holidays I purchased the “**Qardio Arm**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86560/qardio-qardioarm-blood-pressure-monitor-white for my mom. She’s been struggling with blood pressure issues over the last several months and working closer with her doctors to help manage this. She is also a recent adopter to the iPhone, so I admit, another reason for the purchase was to get her to use her phone more to see all that it’s capable of doing for her!

    It took just five minutes to set up the blood pressure cuff and download the App. With the tap of the phone to the cuff the unit quickly came to life and good it’s first reading then the information was quickly sent to your iPhone. Once the first reading is taken all you need to do is launch the App, tap “measurement” and then the green start button. One of the great features and why I purchased the product is that it easily keeps your history. No more bringing a sheet of paper or notebook to the doctor’s office. You can simply open up the App and show it to your doctor, the iPhone can provide location information, providing you with detailed information on your health. A simple yet convenient feature about this product is it runs off AAA batteries making it easy to keep up and running no matter where you are. Additionally, you can have multiple users utilizing the cuff and it even has the ability to share the information with others. Lastly it works with Apple HealthKit allowing you to fully track your fitness and health history on one convenient device.

    It’s amazing the technology that we can fit into our pockets these days, even more amazing is how useful and easy to use so much of it is.

  • Back up for the Holidays

    The Holidays are here and I am sure many of your are busy making memories, thinking about others and capturing as many picture-perfect moments that you can. While you’re busy bustling around, are you taking the time to think about these memories? What would happen if you couldn’t go back and look up those moments? Perhaps now is the time to think about a gift for yourself and taking the time to ensure that all of the perfect moments you are capturing on video and in pictures are being safely stored on your computer.

    I know we talk about this all the time, but it’s surprising how many of us out there keep putting this important step of backing up to the side! The Holidays are the time with some of the best memories, and so many of us are capturing once in a lifetime moments. The last thing anyone wants is to have something happen to those photos. There are so many options for backing up your computer and your important files it can be a little overwhelming. There is iCloud, cloud-based storage solutions from countless companies, traditional external hard drives for back up and more! My preferred backup solutions are a combination of cloud backup and physical hard drives. It might seem a little redundant, but better to be safe than sorry when it comes to important documents and memories.

    For me, iCloud and an external hard drive are my preferred options for backing up. I use my iCloud account to keep my daily life in order, contacts and calendars most importantly. I also use iCloud for storing some of my most important memories and files, select baby photos of my kids and some important documents. The kind of things that should the worst case happen and I lost my computer or drives due to theft or fire I still have copies in the cloud. My preference for my backups is using Time Machine and my “**Seagate**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85305/seagate-backup-plus-slim-portable-drive-usb-3-0-2tb-blue hard drives. I keep a different drive for each of my computers and perform fairly regular backups, I am not perfect, so sometimes they are not as regular as I would like. But utilizing these drives allows me to ensure that I have entire backups of my files and data readily available. Before I started to use iCloud I would also have back ups drives of my Time Machine back up, yes, I was and am that paranoid about loosing photos of my kids. I still have a small 20gb drive that contains my oldest daughter’s first year of photos, even though I know all the photos are on my computer and backed up I still won’t delete that drive.

    In the last year we have seen a rise in alternative cloud storage and mobile storage solutions. Many companies like “*Seagate*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/?mmfg%5B0%5D=Seagate and “*LaCie*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/?mmfg%5B0%5D=LaCie have portable drives that allow users to access information wirelessly while on the go. This is a great solution for families with large media libraries for movies. The “**Lacie Fuel**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85520/lacie-fuel-wireless-battery-powered-mobile-hd-wifi-usb-3-0-1tb is great for just this. Have a long road trip? Load up the drive and the family can access the files from their iPhones or iPads quickly and easily without taking up storage on their devices. Another and perhaps more practical solution is the “**Seagate Personal Cloud**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002041/mac-the-halls-save-20-on-seagate-personal-cloud-home-media-storage-3tb. This drive allows you to back up everything on your computer and access it from anywhere! No need to carry that back up drive along with you, and with tons of storage options little worry about not having enough space. So this holiday season remember, backing up is just as important as capturing those memories.